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1285328

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Driving Tests: Urban Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that driving test centres are based in town centres.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151602
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/02/2021 answer text <p>The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency keeps its estate under review to ensure site locations are fit for purpose and provide customers with a value for money service.</p><p> </p><p>Practical test centres are, ideally, located away from congested city centres in suburban and business estates, with access to a meaningful network of roads used for test routes, and are not reliant on accessibility of public transport.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Redditch answering member printed Rachel Maclean question first answered 15/02/2021 11:15:14 answering member 4668 label Biography information for Rachel Maclean
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1285329

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates' Courts: Urban Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that magistrates' courts are based in town centres.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>Our current magistrates’ court buildings across England and Wales are located in town and city centres, making sure that they are accessible to court users, including by public transport.</p><p> </p><p>Access to justice is our top priority when we consider the future location of any court or tribunal building. There are currently no plans to relocate or acquire new magistrates’ court buildings.</p><p> </p><p>The HMCTS Court and Tribunal Design Guide published in 2019 is clear that when choosing any potential future court sites that they offer a suitable location, accessibility, amenity, security, urban context and planning potential.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 17/02/2021 11:52:14 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1285330

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Revenue and Customs: Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that local tax offices are based in town centres.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151604
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>HMRC are committed to their strategy, announced in 2015, of moving to 13 regional centres, all within Government hubs, in city centre locations where the majority of their staff are already based. This is key to HMRC’s and wider Government’s transformation and is aligned with the Places for Growth Programme.</p><p> </p><p>Customer services will not be reduced by the closure of offices. HMRC had already closed their enquiry centres in 2014. Currently almost all business customers deal with the department online and, in 2020, 94 per cent of Self-Assessment returns were filed digitally. In addition to dealing with enquiries by telephone, HMRC have set up an Extra Support Team, providing assistance to taxpayers who need extra help. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, HMRC are unable to offer face to face appointments at this time, but they continue to serve taxpayers through other communication channels. Evidence from customer satisfaction survey results confirms that taxpayers, particularly those who would have satisfied the criteria for a face to face appointment, are happy with these alternative services.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 17/02/2021 15:27:33 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1285331

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Sexual Offences
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of sexual assault incidents taking place in prisons.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>We take any allegation of sexual assault in prisons extremely seriously and have robust processes in place to ensure such incidents are immediately referred to the police and victims are given the support they need.</p><p>Our approach to reducing all types of violence in prisons, including sexual assaults, is threefold. First, we know that there is a link between staffing numbers and violence in prison, which is why we continue to take actions to strengthen the frontline and ensure we have the staff they need to ensure the safety of everyone who lives and works in our prisons. Our short term target was to recruit 2,500 extra prison officers and as of 30 September 2020, 3,844 new staff are now in post. This has placed our prisons on a stronger footing and enabled us to begin the rollout of new reforms such as the key worker role, which focuses on supporting individual prisoners.</p><p>Secondly, it is vital that we ensure our staff have the right support, training and tools to empower them to do their jobs. We are rolling out Trauma Risk Management, a trauma-focused peer support system designed to help people who have experienced a traumatic or potentially traumatic event, and we are currently considering other ways in which we can better support victims of violence in our prisons, including staff. We provide post-incident care teams, occupational health support and counselling for members of staff who are assaulted while doing their jobs.</p><p>Thirdly, we are investing £100 million to bolster prison security, clamping down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel violence, including sexual assaults, and crime behind bars. This is funding tough measures including x-ray body scanners and phone-blocking technology.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 17/02/2021 10:55:45 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1285332

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Radicalism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce and prevent (a) radicalisation and (b) extremism in prisons.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151606
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>The Government takes the threat posed by terrorist offenders very seriously and is committed to tackling radicalisation and terrorism in our prisons.</p><p>We have a range of capabilities and controls to manage the unique risk posed by terrorist offenders and to prevent them from radicalising others. All risk management is underpinned through specialist counter terrorism case management. This includes rehabilitative tools, which tackle the drivers of radicalisation and seek to draw prisoners away from extremist ideologies.</p><p>The Joint Extremism Unit (JEXU) is the strategic centre for counter-terrorism work in prisons; since 2017, it has led important investment and improvement in the sector. Over 30,000 prison staff have been trained to identify, report and deal with extremist behaviour in prison. The Government introduced separation centres to manage the risk of a small number of prisoners who may pose a particular risk of radicalising other offenders in the mainstream prison estate.</p><p>The CT Step Up programme will transform this response in prisons by addressing gaps in our current capabilities. The programme will increase counter-terrorism capability in the system by focusing resource into a number of centres of excellence and specialist functions that can deliver a strengthened set of controls and interventions to terrorist offenders at a pace and scale commensurate to the threat.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 17/02/2021 11:03:16 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1285334

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Home Ownership
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to promote home ownership.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151607
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>First Homes, our new home ownership scheme, will be prioritised for first-time buyers and will allow them to buy a new home with a discount, at least 30 per cent under market value. In some areas, the discounts could be as high as 50 per cent. This will significantly reduce both deposit and mortgage requirements and open up the dream of home ownership to even more people. <br> <br>Our new Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme from April 2021 to March 2023 will be targeted at helping first-time buyers to get a foot on the property ladder. <br> <br>As set out in the Conservative manifesto of December 2019, the Government will encourage a market in long-term fixed rate mortgages with low deposits to promote home ownership. We stand ready to work with the sector to explore the possible options to bring these products to market.</p><p>The Government is committed to supporting the supply of new homes, delivering around 244,000 last year, the highest in over 30 years.</p><p>We are bringing forward an ambitious near £20 billion investment, including over £12 billion in Affordable Housing over 5 years, and over £7 billion to both unlock new land through the provision of infrastructure and diversify the market through our National Home Building Fund. Alongside our reforms to the planning system, this will deliver the new homes the country needs.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 17/02/2021 17:12:19 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1285335

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Planning
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to implement his policy of placing beauty at the heart of the built environment.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151608
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>Following our response to the report of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, we are taking action to put beauty and placemaking at the heart of the planning and development process. We have outlined proposals for securing design quality in our White Paper, Planning for the Future and on 30 January, we published for consultation a revised National Planning Policy Framework to make beauty and placemaking strategic policies. The National Model Design Code provides guidance on creating local design codes and we are seeking views on this advice alongside the National Planning Policy Framework consultation. We also intend to create an Office for Place within the next year to champion design and beauty in the planning system and we have made a commitment to strengthen Homes England’s objectives to give greater weight to design quality.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher grouped question UIN 151609 question first answered 17/02/2021 17:11:05 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1285336

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Planning
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that placemaking is at the heart of the Government's strategic thinking about development.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151609
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>Following our response to the report of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, we are taking action to put beauty and placemaking at the heart of the planning and development process. We have outlined proposals for securing design quality in our White Paper, Planning for the Future and on 30 January, we published for consultation a revised National Planning Policy Framework to make beauty and placemaking strategic policies. The National Model Design Code provides guidance on creating local design codes and we are seeking views on this advice alongside the National Planning Policy Framework consultation. We also intend to create an Office for Place within the next year to champion design and beauty in the planning system and we have made a commitment to strengthen Homes England’s objectives to give greater weight to design quality.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher grouped question UIN 151608 question first answered 17/02/2021 17:11:05 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1285337

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Planning: Urban Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to rejuvenate town centres.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151610
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>This Government is fully committed to supporting the businesses and communities that make our high streets and town centres successful as the nation responds to the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>Government is working to deliver a package of long-term measures that support town centre regeneration. This includes the £3.6 billion Towns Fund, which will support an initial 101 places across England to secure Town Deals. It will support local areas to renew and reshape town centres and high streets in a way that improves experience, drives growth and ensures future sustainability. In September 2020, we brought forward over £80 million funding in to support immediate improvements in 101 towns selected for deals to “build back better” in the wake of COVID-19.</p><p>On the 26 December 2020, the Secretary of State confirmed £255 million for fifteen areas from the Future High Streets Fund, with a further 57 areas receiving provisional funding offers totalling up to £576 million.</p><p>Further, the Government is launching a new Levelling Up Fund. This Fund will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities and will support economic recovery. We will publish a prospectus for the Fund soon.</p><p>We are providing support to local leadership in England with a High Streets Task Force, giving them expert advice to support their high streets and town centres to adapt and thrive. This is providing hands-on support to local areas to develop data-driven innovative strategies and connect local areas to relevant experts, and will operate up to 2024.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 17/02/2021 13:39:15 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1285340

registered interest
date	09/02/2021
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Planning: Urban Areas
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to discourage or prohibit edge of town or out of town development.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	151611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>In order to support the vitality of town centres, the Government has made clear in the National Planning Policy Framework that in the first instance, main town centre uses such as retail should be located in town centres. In some circumstances it may not be possible to accommodate all forecast needs in a town centre, for example if there are physical or other constraints which make it inappropriate to do so. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to prohibit all development of this type outside of existing centres.</p><p>However, when assessing applications for town centre uses, such as retail, which are proposed in an edge of or out of town location, and those sites have not been identified in a local plan, the Framework sets out that a sequential test should be applied in order to help ensure that development that would have unacceptable implications on existing centres is not permitted.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 17/02/2021 17:40:01 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes